Membership and Pledging: Giving Back to God

The time has come once again to submit our financial pledges to St. Michael's for the coming year. Pledging will mean something a bit different in 2007 as we move away from the "dues" system toward the more biblical, spiritual concept of proportional giving, or tithing. We tend to get a bit uptight when talking about giving, which is an intensely personal discipline, but if we are honest with ourselves we will come to see that being a simply "dues paying member" falls short of proper stewardship, and of what it means to be a member of the Body of Christ.

In order to be considered a "member in good standing" of St. Michael's Orthodox Church, the parish bylaws stipulate that one must be at least 18 years of age, come to confession and communion in this parish a minimum of once a year, and "fulfill his or her financial obligations" to the parish. Previously, this financial obligation has been measured as the amount that our parish owes per person to the central administration of the OCA. You see, our central administration is funded by a "head tax" in which each parish of the OCA must pay Syosset a set dollar amount for each person the parish considers a member in good standing. (Note that our Diocese, on the other hand, is funded by each of our parishes "tithing" 9% of its budget). Last year the central administration head tax was estimated at $108 (it actually turned out to be a bit more). This meant that to be a member in good standing last year you had to pledge a minimum of $108, so that at the very least our parish would not take a hit by counting anyone. As long as you didn't cost St. Michael's anything, you could be a member.

The financial expectations of the dues system are woefully minimal, indeed, but even worse is that the spiritual implications of this system are downright misleading. The dues system not only presents the church as a club with an annual fee for membership, it also divorces our giving from a reckoning with what we have received. In reducing giving to an abstract, fixed sum we lose an opportunity to reflect with thanksgiving on what God has given us. We lose the opportunity to give in proportion to what we have been given. The advantage of a pledge system based on proportional giving is that it keeps the act of giving what it ought to be: an expression of gratitude to God and a spiritual sacrifice. When it comes right down to it, scripture itself mandates proportional giving: "All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord (…) And all the tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord" (Lev. 27:30, 32). Granted we Christians are no longer under the Law of which this mandate was a part. But then, the Law was given on account of the hardness of man's heart. We who are no longer under a Law written on tablets of stone have written into our hearts a law of grace that in the case of stewardship tells us to go far beyond even tithing.

Although the tithe is scriptural, it will come as an alien concept to some of us. A period of learning and adjustment is called for. While a set dollar fee (dues) must be done away with, and while even the tithe (10% of our income) is a minimal sacrifice, our first year on this new stewardship system will have an even more modest goal: 5% of our income, or half of the tithe. It would be ideal if we didn't even have to designate a percentage, but such is necessary for the sake of budgetary planning and a united vision. In future years it is hoped we can graduate toward the tithe, but while 5% may be even less than God expects (and even the tithe is less than God expects: our all), nothing could be more misleading and insulting than a system that says you're in as long as you don't cost us anything.

Please fill out, clip and return the pledge form at the back of this bulletin to John Kuzmiak by October 30th. Those who return a pledge form, in addition to meeting the other requirements, will be considered members in good standing for the coming year. Only members in good standing may be elected to Parish Council, serve as lay delegate to the Diocesan Assembly, and receive The Orthodox Church newsmagazine.

Services this Month

+ St. Demetrios (Oct. 26)

Diocesan Assembly/Father Away

This month there will be only one weekday Liturgy as Fr. will be away for two trips. From October 2nd-6th, he and Matushka, together with Pavel, our parish lay delegate, will be in Las Vegas attending the annual Diocesan Assembly. This will be a particularly important assembly as it will feature a retirement banquet for His Grace our Bishop Tikhon, who has overseen this diocese since 1987. Father will return for Vespers and Liturgy on the 7th-8th, but leave again the 10th-19th for a family commitment in Tacoma. There will be no services at St. Michael's the weekend of the 14th-15th. Fr. can be reached on his cell at (719) 406-8833. In an emergency, contact Father Anthony Karbo at (719) 473-9238.

Liturgy and Inter-parish Potluck at St. John's

Since there will be no Liturgy at St. Michael's Oct. 15th, the faithful of our parish have been invited to services at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church two blocks away on Spruce Ave. Following the Divine Liturgy, which begins at 10 am, there will be an inter-parish potluck and coffee fellowship. St. John's parishioners will provide a main course, and we are asked to bring the beverages, salads and desserts. This is a blessed opportunity to develop the longed for Orthodox unity at the grassroots level.

Cabbage Roll Dinner

St. Michael's annual sarma/holupki dinner will be held Nov. 5th after Liturgy. Last year's dinner was a great success in terms of building and maintaining a relationship with our community, building bonds among those who volunteered their labors, and even in terms of making the most substantial profit in recent memory. Let's continue to develop this success by having a dinner that is only secondarily a fundraiser, and primarily about public relations and, yes, even an opportunity for evangelism. One area of improvement that is absolutely essential is the level of volunteerism from ALL parishioners. In order to make the dinner more of a joy for those who prepare, serve and clean up, we all need to put ourselves into the category of the servers rather than the served. It is unworthy of our Christian community to allow only a few people to do all or most of the work. Accordingly, there will be sign up sheets in the coming weeks that will list various jobs. Everyone's name should be listed under at least one category. Serving this meal is a chance to serve Christ. If we see it this way, our labor will become a labor of love, and therefore will be lightened.

Monastery Pilgrimage

The men of St. Michael's will have a spiritual retreat at St. Michael's Skete in Canones, NM, the week of Oct. 18th-21st or 22nd. This will be a time for prayer, reflection and growth together as men. Speak with Zachary Lynch for more information.

Windows

A few people have expressed interest in purchasing one of the old windows from our temple, but no one has taken any yet. Please pick up your window as soon as you are able. The donation of $40 per window can be given either to Fr. or to John Kuzmiak. First come, first served.

Archbishop Jovan

Our special collection for the Archbishop Jovan Fund raised $127. Meanwhile, this living martyr for Christ has been cast into prison once again.

Parish Hike

September's impromptu parish hike near Greenhorn Mountain was a lot of fun for those who took part. We'll see if we can get in one more hike on the last Saturday of this month, weather permitting. Ranger Davi will have details.

Calhan Slavic Fest

St. Mary's Orthodox Church in Calhan presents its fourth annual Slavic Fest Saturday and Sunday Oct. 14th & 15th. There will be food, music, arts & crafts and, best of all, you can go to Vespers!

We Owe Everything To God

When you are generous, you are not bestowing a gift, but repaying a debt. Everything you possess materially comes from God, who created all things. And every spiritual and moral virtue you possess is through divine grace. Thus you owe everything to God. More than that, God has given you his Son to show you how to live, how to use your material possessions, and how to grow in moral and spiritual virtue. We may say that your material and spiritual possessions cost God nothing; God created the universe in order to express his own glory. But the gift of his Son was supremely costly, because his Son suffered and died for our sakes. The agony of Christ on the cross is the measure of how much God loves us. For this reason we should take none of our gifts, material or spiritual, for granted; day-by-day we should give thanks to God for what he has bestowed on us. Once this spirit of gratitude infuses us, we shall see generosity for what it is. We will regard our act as no more than a small token of appreciation for all that we have received or, more precisely, the repayment of a tiny fraction of God's blessings.

-- Saint John Chrysostom

Three Grains Of Rice

While preparing a meager meal, a beggar heard a caravan approaching. Quickly he ran, crying "Alms, alms." Realizing that one of the travelers was a prince, he cried even louder. The prince said to the beggar, "What have you to give me for the alms I might give you?" The beggar fingered his 25 or 30 grains of rice and offered just three grains to the prince. The prince took the three grains of rice and held them for a moment. Then, taking the beggar's hand, he laid the three grains in the moist palm, and folded the beggar's fingers over them. With that the prince left. The beggar opened his hand. Amazingly, instead of three grains of rice there were three brilliant diamonds. The prince gave him three diamonds! The beggar gasped and then wept, "If only I had given all! If only I had given all!"

Recommended Reading

This month's recommended reading is actually an icon. 'How can you read an icon?' you may ask. You can 'read' it because, properly speaking, an icon is 'written' and not 'painted.' An icon is written as an expression of theology, and the theology expressed in this month's recommended reading is the theology of the universality of the Church and its call of all peoples to the life of sanctification, whether they be Jew or Greek or even North American. The icon in question is of the Synaxis of Alaskan Saints (bookstore: $3). In September we celebrated the memories of Sts. Juvenaly of Iliamna and Peter the Aleut. Their example shows us not the 'great exception' to our own lives, but rather the 'great vocation' to which we too are called. The Orthodox Churches of Serbia, Russia and so forth all have their own, great saints. One of the pillars of our autocephaly is that Orthodoxy in this land has been spiritually vibrant enough to raise up saints here, too, to serve as the leaven of the Orthodox Church in America. If we are to demonstrate true appreciation for the gift of autocephaly, granted by Moscow a quarter century ago - if we are to demonstrate that we even deserve it - then we must show this by our love and veneration for the saints God has given us. The saints lead the way to where God calls each of us to go.

Pledge Card
Please fill out the form below prior to October 30. Either drop it off in the collection basket or mail it to John at the address given. Your response is held in privacy and your fulfillment of your pledge is between you and the Lord.

John Kuzmiak (treasurer)
13 Regis Lane
Pueblo, CO 81005-1903

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NAME:

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PLEDGE AMOUNT:

$ _______________ weekly bi-monthly monthly (please circle one)